The government has made it mandatory for all special economic zones to obtain certificates from the Export Promotion Council for SEZs and EOUs if they want rebates like duty drawbacks

“The unit or the developer including co-developer shall obtain a registration-cum-membership certificate for availing exemptions, drawbacks and concessions,“ the commerce department said in a recent diktat.

Besides making SEZs accountable for the exemptions they get, the move would also help in policy making as their feedback can be considered, officials said.

At present only 800 out of 4,100 operational SEZ units are registered with the export promotion council, making it difficult to streamline the sector. Whenever the government seeks feedback on important issues such as budget, foreign trade policy or even tax policy, it doesn’t get a complete picture because views of all the SEZs that are not registered are not covered, officials said.

Anand Giri, officiating deputy director general at Export Promotion Council for SEZs and EOUs (EPCES), said, “At present, SEZs are members of other product specific councils. When they face any problem they write to their council that then take it up with ministry concerned such as textiles, steel and IT, among others, instead of writing to SEZ division or to EPCES.“

He said, “So, with this change in SEZs, they at least can be enrolled with us and the government can get authentic and urgent feedback on any issue regarding the SEZ scheme… SEZs will also get a proper platform to raise their issues.“

The development comes even as the government is looking to boost investor interest in SEZs that are deemed to be foreign territory for purposes of taxes, duties and trade, and give a big push to exports.

Source: The Economic Times